Ultra-bright flare

Caught this flare in Camelopardalis around 6.30; the centreline passed 1km from my location and was given as mag -7 in Calsky but -8.1 in Heavens Above. At its brightest it lights up the surrounding sky and must give a reasonable impression of what a Supernova would look like -



Finbarr.

Brilliantly caught, Finbarr.

And what is that I see in the upper right hand corner?

Why -it's Kemble's Cascade.

Aubrey.

Well spotted Aubrey! An attractive sight through 15x70 binos and I think quite surprising that it was discovered as late as 1980.

Wow Finbarr! I did not know that.
I think I first heard of Kemble's Cascade from Patrick Moore.
And I have observed in my 158 mm apo.
The trick is to observe its south side first -then its north side.
I cannot observe it all at once even when using my 2" 38 mm eyepiece at 40X.
The star cluster NGC 1502 is a stunner at the end.

Clear skies,

Aubrey.

Well caught Finbarr, excellent image.Further to NGC1502 and Kemble's Cascade, there is an excellent planetary nebula nearby, NGC1501
But the big challenge in Camelopardalis is the galaxy IC342, a face-on galaxy of magnitude 9.1. Easy peasy you may think, but it is a difficult object, as it lies very close to the plane of the Milky Way and we see it through obscuring dust. I have managed to see it twice over the years, both times from Bragan mountain in County Monaghan. Well worth a go.